president-elect donald trump's pick for secretary of state is finally revealed as democrats and republicans react to intelligence reports that russia wanted trump to win. this is "special report." good evening. welcome to washington. i'm bret baier. president-elect donald trump is expected to pick a big oil executive. exen mobile ceo rex tillerson to be his nominee for secretary of state. that expected choice has lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing concern about tillerson's cozy relationship with russian president vladimir putin and the questioning about trump's decision is only heightened by reports that the intelligence community is

convinced russia tried to influence the election and dispute between intelligence agencies and law enforcement over the reported determination by the cia that vladimir putin's cyber team was working to see trump win. senior national correspondent john roberts reports on the trump transition tonight from outside trump tower in new york. good evening, john. >> reporter: bret, good evening to you. the president-elect was on offense again today against intelligence agency claims that russian hackers were working to get him elected. dismissing those analyses is nothing more than political sour grapes. but when it comes to one potential cabinet pick, those intelligence analyses may add an extra mauzure of security. rex tillerson is the pick for secretary of state. an official announcement may still be days away, in an interview, trump told chris wallace that tillerson is an influential and impressive candidate for the job. >> he's much more than a business executive.

he's a world-class player. and to me a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. he does massive deals in russia. he does massive deals for the company. >> reporter: but tillerson could face headwinds in his confirmation. even some republicans concerned about tillerson's close business ties to russian president vladimir putin. allegations from the cia that russian hackers were trying to help trump win the election drew fire from the president-elect today, trump tweeting, quote, can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and we tried to play the russia/cia card? it would be called conspiracy theory. on fx news sunday, trump said the whole thing is, quote, ridiculous. >> hacking is very interesting. once they hack, if you don't catch them in the hack, you're not going to catch them. they have no idea if it's russia or china or somebody. it could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace. >> reporter: trump's proclamation puts him at odds withment experts in the intelligence community and senior members of his own party

who today insisted they support a congressional probe into any possible russian attempt to influence the election. >> the russians are not our friends. we ought to approach all of these issues on the assumption that the russians do not wish us well. >> it was a great, great meeting. >> reporter: with five positions in trump's cabinet left to fill, trump tower was a hive of activity today. first to arrive was carly fiorina, whose war of words with trump during the primaries was legendary. >> donald trump said the following about you, quote, look at that face. would anyone vote for that? can you imagine that? the face of our next president. >> i think women all over this country heard very clearly what mr. trump said. >> reporter: today fiorina messaged as a possibility candidate for director of national tejts was all sweetness and light after her meeting with the president-elect. >> it was such an honor to meet with the president-elect. first i have to say he has really cool stuff in his office. all these athletes have given him this incredible memorabil l

memorabilia. i guess it takes a champion to know a champion. >> reporter: donald trump also met today with the west virginia senator who is top continder for energy secretary, congressman from montana ryan zinke ki, who could fill a number of different roles and former texas governor rick perry, who could be in line for either the energy job or veterans affairs secretary. brets? >> john, a new title for you starting tonight. chief white house correspondent. congratulations. >> reporter: bret, thanks so much. looking forward to it. >> thank you. the prospect of america's top diplomat being a dig oil executive with strong ties to russia and no government experience has a lot of people here in d.c. on edge. but rex tillerson is not just any ceo. here's chief washington correspondent james rosen. >> reporter: rex tillerson started out as an engineer with exxon mobil in 1975, taking the

helm of the energy giant 11 years ago. >> incredibly impressive that tillerson has been at exxon for 41 years, employs 71,000 people, is in charge of a $320 billion global corporation. we need to stabilize the middle east, and we need somebody, the fourth highest ranked person in our government to go around the world and advance our u.s. interests. >> reporter: under tillerson's leadership, exxon has backed a carbon tax and the paris climate accord that trump has vowed to walk away from. ti in march, he expressed interest in doing business under the right conditions with iran. >> a lot of our european competitors are in working actively. i don't know we're necessarily at a disadvantage. the history of iranian foreign investment in the past, their terms were always quite challenging, quite difficult. we never had large investments in iran for that reason.

>> reporter: but it is tillerson's long ties to moscow that are occasioning concern. by some estimates, no american except henry kissinger has had more face time with vladimir putin, who has known the texas native for more than two decades and who in 2013 awarded him the russian federation's order of friendship medal. it was suggested tillerson's nomination would be in keeping with donald trump's rhetoric. >> it's obvious he likes russia, and that's fairly concerning to the world and certainly concerning to americans. it's concerning to me. >> reporter: at the same time, republican senator marco rubio of florida tweeted, being a friend of vladimir is not an attribute i'm hoping for from a secretary of state. and arizona senator, john mccain, also expressed misgivings. >> when he gets the friendship award from a butcher, frankly it's an issue that i think needs to be examined. and, again, that does not mean we should pre-judge mr. tillerson. >> reporter: one of the earlier

tests he would face as secretary of state would be whether to extend sanctions on russia imposed after the kremlin's an exation of crimea. and placating those european al allies. president-elect trump is saying he may not want to get an intelligence briefing every day. it is his latest departure from convention as he prepares to take the oath of office next month. and like so many other things, it has the washington intelligentsia, like republicans did eight years ago, pulling their hair out. >> reporter: when asked about receiving the presidential daily briefing, president-elect donald trump told fox news sunday's chris wallace he's getting them, just not every day. >> i don't need to be told, chris, the same thing every day, every morning, same words. sir, nothing has changed. let's go over it again. i don't need that. >> reporter: instead, trump said the retired generals he's nominated for his cabinet, james

mattis and john kelly are being briefed, and is vice president elect mike pence. but that approach is seemingly at odds with his previous comments about president obama's daily briefing habits. trump tweeting, priorities, while fund-raising and campaigning on our dime, obama has skipped over 50% of his intel briefings. and, fact, obama does not read his intelligence briefings, nor does he get briefed in person by the ciao dod. president obama sometimes read the briefing on his ipad and has altered his public schedule to reflect in person updates. >> in order to make good decisions, a president has to have access to good information. and by good information, i mean information that is accurate, that is run up to date, that is presented clearly. >> reporter: the pdb is a compilation of high level intelligence findings put together overnight by a team working out of the office of the

direct own of national intelligence. it lets the president review a host of topics and threads both at home and abroad. critics say it's more than just a tradition dating back y50e6rs. not only h the need to be up to date is know more critical than ever. >> every president i know, and i've worked under nine presidents -- every one has taken their intelligence daily brief because that sets the agenda for what you have to focus on as president of the united states. >> reporter: bret, panetta's argument is that intelligence changes so rapidly and frequently that a president has to be fully engaged and not just through his team but, as you also heard, the president-elect said, look, i trust my team, and i'm immediately available should details warrant. bret. >> kevin, thank you. a federal judge in pennsylvania has rejected the effort by green party presidential candidate jill stein for a recount in that

state. he says suspicion of a hacked pennsylvania election, quote, borders on the irrational. late this afternoon, the state certified its vote totals. another federal judge halted michigan's recount last week. the wisconsin recount ended today. with donald trump's win there not only reaffirmed, but he actually gained 162 votes in wisconsin. even without the specific answers about the severity and damage from cyber attacks during the election, the digital threat to the u.s. government is not going away anytime soon. tonight we take an exclusive look at the nsa team tasked with stopping it. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge has our story. >> reporter: are u.s. systems attacked every day and multiple times a day? >> yes, athey are attacked probably thousand of times a day. >> reporter: they've tackled some of the biggist kries easy, from china's breach of the

office of personnel management to north korea's physical destruction of sony's computer networks and now russia. >> adversaries are exploiting areas where we never really saw them attack before. >> reporter: this is an elite group that works with fbi investigators and homeland security. >> they understand how to configure technology and what technology is required to really keep adversaries out and keep information secure. these are like the special forces of cybersecurity. >> reporter: in november, the nsa director said the election hacks were not an accident. >> this was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily. this was a conscious effort by a nation state to attempt to achieve a specific effect. >> dukes could not go beyond that statement but emphasized russia uses cyber for both defense and offense. >> it may be to get to certain intelligence that they can't get any other way. they may use it to counter a narrative that's currently

anti-russian. >> reporter: the team also secures information on the battlefield where the mission is deeply personal. >> every day, you know, we support this country -- sorry. >> it's okay. >> reporter: in afghanistan, the nsa helped dismantdle a network that killed nine service members in 2013. the looming cyber threat may require bundling fbi, homeland security, and defense department capabilities. for the incoming administration, what recommendations would you give them? >> i think you need collapse all three into one organization where we can be more responsive. >> reporter: late today, tension between capitol hill and the intelligence community escalated with the republican chairman of the house intelligence committee sending a letter to the director of national intelligence, james clammer. clapper testified that they lacked strong evidence connecting the russian government cyber attacks to the wikileaks disclosures.

congressman nunez has called for a classified briefing from the cia and fbi to deconflict these accounts no later than friday this week. how worried are you about possible hacking of the federal government? let me know on twitter @bretbaier. or at facebook at facebook.com/bret baier sr. probe > the white house counsel says the president has directed his copy of the report to be preserved in his archives. after 12 years, a request to declassify could be considered. a summary of the senate report was released in 2014. the syrian military says it has gained control of 99% of eastern aleppo in syria. a rebel spokesman says opposition fighters are retreating under intention government fire. that's putting thousands of civilians at risk there. rebels say most of the remaining

non-combatants are trapped in two or three small neighborhoods in aleppo. authorities in turkey, egypt, and somalia are looking for more suspects in a trio of terrorist attacks over the wind, and there are mounting concerns tonight that the violence could be coming our way. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is tracking the investigations tonight from the pentagon. good evening, jennifer. >> reporter: good evening, bret. new york senator chuck schumer is calling on the department of homeland security to require rail and transit agencies to screen its employees against federal terrorism watch lists. something they were supposed to have done ten years ago. that request after a waive of bombings struck three capitals this weekend within a matter of hours. at 7:30 a.m. in cairo, a suicide bomber blew up in the women's section of saint mark's cathedral, egypt's main orthodox church. they targeted christians as they prayed.

egypt's president blamed a 22-year-old detained in 2014, accused of belonging to the muslim brotherhood at the time. >> they have been trying to break us for the last three years, hitting our economy and with a wave of terrorist attacks, but they know nothing will break us. >> reporter: hours earlier in turkey, a car bomb and a suicide bomber killed 44 people. 36 of them anti-riot police outside an istanbul stadium where a high-profile soccer match was being played. the turkish government blamed the kurd stan workers party, but arrested more than 200 kurdish political opponents in 11 cities across turkey today. >> announce >> translator: we will not let them get away with this. they will pay a bigger price. they better be aware. >> reporter: in mogadishu somalia, a car bomb targeting local police brew up sunday morning outside the port killing at least 20 people. the attack was thought to be the work of al shabaab, an al qaeda affiliate that has previously

recruited somali immigrants from minnesota in the past. today in france, police arrested 11 people thought to have helped the truck driver who killed 86 people in nice this summer. a terror attack claimed by isis. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he's looking forward to discussion the iran nuclear deal with president donald trump. both men have been highly critical of the agreement. the statement comes as the u.s. sends two of its brand-new state of the art fighter jets to israel. correspondent john huddy has that story tonight from jerusalem. >> reporter: with a roar, stealth fighters landed at the air force base in southern israel. a grand and ferocious entrance. >> it is extremely loud, but this is the moment we've all been waiting for. >> reporter: u.s. secretary of defense ash carter attended tonight's ceremony. he said the u.s. and israel will dominate the skies together with

the f 35s. >> the u.s./israel defense relationship is stronger than it's ever been. >> reporter: the two f 35 jsz are the first of what will be 50 total by 2020, at a cost of nearly $100 million each, israel's program has been politically contentious. today, president-elect donald trump criticized the u.s.'s $400 billion f 35 program tweeting its out of control. shares of lockheed martin dropped more than 4% after that treat, roughly a $4 billion loss. >> since 2010 when the technical rebaseline took place, we haven't asked for another day or dollar for this program. we're delivering on time. >> reporter: we talked to one of the israeli pilots who gave his name as captain r. israeli pilots don't give their full names or show their faces on camera for security reasons. he said the technology is superior to anything he's flown before. >> it can reach further inside a threatened area compared to f-16

without being discovered or without being threatened. i'm willing to test my skills. >> reporter: he and the other pilots will start their live training in the cockpit tomorrow. as israeli prime minister netanyahu takes a look at the f 35, he added earlier in his speech that it advances israel's military technology into the future. bret. >> john, thank you. up next, president-elect trump and china, a look at the diplomacy and whether a trade war is looming. fox 5 in atlanta has two police officers are shot while serving a search warrant overnight. one of the officers has already been treated and released. the second is in serious condition tonight. fox 29 in philadelphia, as former democratic congressman chaka fattah is sentenced to ten years in prison. he was convicted of misspending

government grants and charity money. his lawyers plan to appeal. and this is a loud look at chicago from our affiliate fox 32. the big story there tonight, the arraignment for former republican congressman aaron schock. he's accused of using his position to spend lavishly on travel and other luxuries. he pleaded not guilty. schock has called the instance honest mistakes. schock resigned last year after spending $40,000 to redecorate his washington office in the style of tv show downton abbey. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway. we'll be right back.

china is expressing its displeasure over a statement by

president-elect donald trump questioning the need for america's so-called one china policy. it started with trump's acceptance of a congratulatory call from taiwan's president on december 2nd. the obama administration quickly chimed in, saying it fully supports the policy, recognizing the communist beijing government as the official china. then came indications from the trump team that the call was actually something that had been planned for months as a deliberate move to shake things up on the policy front. those indications were down played by trump's senior adviser kellyanne conway that same day saying it was, quote, just a phone call at this point. and yesterday on fox news sunday, president-elect trump further muddied the waters of this timeline. senior foreign affairs correspondent tells us how the apartment shift is being received around the worlt. >> reporter: china reacting swiftly to comments regarding the long held property colt of recognizing beijing while remaining only unofficial ties with taiwan made by

president-elect donald trump on fox news sunday. >> i don't know why we have to be bound by a one china policy unless we make a deal with china having to do with other things, including trade. >> reporter: a spokesman for the chinese foreign ministry saying the government has serious concerns. >> if this foundation is compromised or disrupted, the steady growth of the china/u.s. relationship as well as bilateral cooperation would be out of the question. >> reporter: a government linked newspaper went further, saying while trump was a businessman through and through, in the field of diplomacy, he is ignorant as a child. regional experts warn against any strengthening of ties with taiwan, like trump's phone call with the taiwanese president earlier this month. in the words of one, that could grossly destabilize u.s. already shine relations. the white house weighed in today on the risks of changing approach. >> disrupting this policy could have a disruptive effect on our

ability to work with china in those areas where our interests do aliern. >> reporter: still others say china has been so uncooperative on so many fronts, from unfair trade practices to allowing a nuclear buildup in north korea, to the seizure of territory in the south china sea, that the u.s.-china relationship and our dealings with taiwan deserves a shake-up. >> he did exactly the right thing. taiwan is an independent nation. listen, somebody's got to stand up to china also, which, again, this administration has not done. >> reporter: most experts are in agreement that the u.s./china relationship is worth a re-look. it's just that most expected president-elect trump to wait to do that chinese re-l once he game president. bret. >> thank you. our 15-part series looking at the first 100 days of the donald trump presidency focuses

tonight on trade with china. correspondent dan springer in seattle looks at what candidate trump promised and who could end up paying the price. >> the time for trump is now. it's either now or never. >> reporter: petergy beganty was an early supporter of donald trump's, almost entirely based on one issue. trade with china. >> we're giving things away. it's the greatest theft in the history of mankind. i've felt that way for a long time and nobody has done anything with it. >> reporter: he has a unique perspective on the u.s./china relationship. he lived in a port city eight years, developing a business park and importing foreign goods. it's where he met his wife and raised their daughter. in 2010, he moved to bellingham, washington, where he began exporting among other things alaskan fish and timber to china. he says the playing field has never been level. china puts tariffs up to 30% on u.s. fish while their fish comes here duty-free. >> they basically are grabbing us by the nose and kicking us in

the rump. >> reporter: when it comes to china, president-elect donald trump sounds a lot like candidate trump. >> they haven't played by the rules, and i know it's time that they're going to start. they're going to start. >> reporter: during the campaign, trump said he would label china a currency manipulator, back out of the trans-pacific partnership, and hilt chinese imports with tariffs up to 45%. all needed, trump says, to correct a 3 3w568 dollars trade imbalance with china. >> the nation of china is responsible for almost half of america's trade deficit. >> reporter: the tough talk has many in the u.s. worried about a full-blown trade war. according to the pacific maritime association, 40% of all cargo at our parts is coming from or going to china. andy wilson, vice chairman of the washington state china relations council has helped that relationship grow. >> the beauty of what's happened or the strths of what's happened

over the last number of decades is we have interdependent economies. the downtown side of that is there's pain that can be inflicted both ways. >> reporter: washington state is more dependent on china than any other state. so far this year, $26 billion worth of goods has passed through the port of seattle, fueled by boeing, which now exports a quarter of all its commercial planes to china, a market expected to grow by a trillion dollars over the next 20 years. the american plane maker seemed well positioned after hosting china's president last year in seattle. but many analysts expect boeing to be the first victim of china's retaliation if tensions egs clatd. >> the chinese government has a loeng history of using aircraft orders as reward or punishment depending on the political pique that they have at the time. >> reporter: other potential lose losers, apple and cherry growers, and in the midwest, car sales could hit a roadblock.

>> it would be absolutely devastating for businesses and workers if we were to continue on a trade war route. >> reporter: but donald trump's transition team leader on trade used to run a major u.s. steel company and says there already is a trade war. in his blog, dan d'amico writes trump will end the attacks by negotiating from a position of strength, not condescending weakness. china respects strength but takes full advantage of weakness. last week, trump picked for his ambassador to china iowa governor terry bran stand, and is perhaps trump's good cop. >> we're going to have mutual respect. we're going to have mooutial respect and china is going to benefit and we're going to benefit. >> peter gig anti can't wait for trump's first 100 days. >> he's a pretty tough negotiator. he starts bring pushing his opponent to the far end of the field. where he finally settles, nobody knows. >> reporter: a trade showdown that could reshape the world's

biggest economy. in seattle, dan springer, fox news. tomorrow, we'll examine what president-elect trump has said and could do about american energy and infrastructure. if you miss any of the reports, you can check them all out on foxnews.com/specialreport. a transition source -- trump transition source telling fox news tonight president-elect trump is delaying until january an announcement regarding servering ties with his businesses. transition sources say that there's way too much going on with cabinet picks to wedge the business press conference in. they say it will likely happen in the first week of january. one source adding, quote, we were trying to get it all done, but we bit off more than we can chew. delaying it is not a big deal. we'll get it done. over on wall street today, stocks were mixed. the dow gained 40 today. it is the 15th record close since election day.

the s&p 500 lost 3. the nasdaq dropped 32. speaking of big money and big business, a lot of people in the financial sector are hoping president donald trump keeps his promise to roll back many of president obama's hundreds of regulations that they feel have been a drain on the u.s. economy. tonight fox business network senior washington correspondent peter barnes looks at what republicans are hoping for and what may be realistic. >> we'll be reducing regulations. now, those are the nice ways of doing it, and everyone loves it, and everyone's happy. >> president-elect donald trump continues his support for cutting regulation to boost the economy. estimates of the annual cost of regulation run from tens of billions of dollars from the obama administration to $2 trillion according to one private study. one measure of regulation is the federal register, the official publication for all government rules. under president obama, it swelled nearly 30% from about

69,000 pages to nearly 90,000. >> i would say 70% of the regulations can go. it's just stopping businesses from growing. >> reporter: as a candidate, mr. trump targeted numerous obama regulations, including under obamacare, the clean power plan, the clean water rule, the fracking rule, and dodd/frank financial regulations. mr. trump will be able to repeal some obama rules by executive order the day he takes office. but others may take longer to undo. >> the president-elect will have to have a 100-minute agenda and then a 100-day agenda. it takes a long time to make a rule, and, guess what, it takes a long time to unmake a rule too. but on the other hand, he can get congress to simply legislate. >> just last month, the administration defends its regulations saying it is, quote, committed to ensuring that regulations are smarlt and effective, that they are tailored to advance statutory goals in the most cost effective and efficient manner, and that they minimize uncertainty.

just as critics of mr. obama's regulations repeatedly went to court to block them, critics of mr. trump could go to court to block him from repealing those regulations, forcing more deregulation delaels. bret. >> peter, thank you. president-elect donald trump getting ready to choose a big oil executive. rex tillerson, for secretary of state. and like much of the news lately, it all seems to come back to russia. we'll ask the panel about it all when we come back.

they have no idea if it's russia or china or somebody. it could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace. democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country. personally, it could be russia. >> he called on russia to hack secretary clinton. so he certainly had a pretty good sense of whose side this activity was coming down on. >> i think we ought to approach all of these issues on the

assumption that the russians do not wish us well. >> reaction to the intelligence reports suggesting that russia not only interfered in the election or tried to, but also wanted donald trump to win. donald trump tweeting out this weekend, can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and we tried to play the russia/cia card? it would be called conspiracy theory. continuing, unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking and why wasn't this brought up before the election? speaking of the election, the clinton team now saying they want the electors to learn about all the intelligence involved here. john podesta saying electors have a solemn responsibility under the constitution, and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed. this is not a partisan issue, and we're glad to see bipartisan support in congress for an investigation into russia's role. we believe that the administration owes it to the american people to explain what it knows regarding the extent and manner of russia's

interference, and this has to be -- or this be done as soon as possible. john podesta with the clinton folks. with that, let's bring in our panel. editor in chief of the washington free beacon. mercedes schlapp, susan page, and syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. susan, the importance of the podesta comment is that the electors meet on december 19th, and they choose how many go to donald trump and how many go to hillary clinton. >> i think there is no actual prospect that this is going to affect what electors do. but it is a sign of how much democrats and some republicans think there ought to be some investigation into russia's attempt at meddling in this election. the fact is the intelligence agencies are in agreement there was a russia effort to meddle in the lxz. the think we don't know there's a consensus about is whether that was aimed at electing

donald trump. but the idea this is going to somehow affect this election, i don't think anybody realistically thinks that true. >> you think some talking about it are short handing it and saying it could? >> i don't think anybody credible is saying that. it sounds to me like maybe john podesta is trying to have a little fun because clearly this gets under donald trump's skin. we see him reacting very much the idea that his election wasn't legitimate, which i think was farther than the actual criticism is going. >> don't think podesta is trying to have a little fun. i think there's a narrative the democrats are trying to push to delegitimize the results. there was a former hillary campaign adviser on television this morning saying just that. russia is delegitimizing this election. americans should be up in arms. so i really think there is a movement towards the fact this last-ditch effort to just put that question out there to the electors to say, wait a second here. can he -- donald trump really take this oath of office with

the russian hackers, and they're trying to just make that call out to the electors. i don't think it's going to change the outcome, but i do think they're trying to make this pitch and they're basing it off the fact that lawmakers back in september -- they were criticizing the obama administration for not taking action on looking into the russian hacking. >> you had reince priebus, the white house chief of staff incoming, say this when asked about all of this back and forth this weekend. >> the russians didn't tell hillary clinton to ignore wisconsin and michigan, okay? i mean i know this is an insane analysis. she lost the election because her ideas were bad. she didn't fit the electorate. she ignored states that she shouldn't have, and donald trump was the change agent, okay? >> he's right. there are two things we need to separate. one is russian interference in the campaign, and we know that's the case. that was the consensus view of the intelligence agencies. what the cia through that leaked washington post story was perhaps implying was that russia

may have actually intervened in the election result. the whole target meant to elect donald trump. that, i think, reince is right in the sense that there's so many other reasons donald trump was elected. think about how the democrats have been in denial. first it was jim comey handed the election to donald trump. then it was fake news gave the election to donald trump. then it was the electoral college gave the election to donald trump. now it's, well, the russian hackers gave the election to donald trump. it's not going to hold water. >> all right. charles, in the background here, you have this decision on secretary of state, and we're being told that rex tillerson, the exxon mobil ceo is the choice and could come as soon as tomorrow or the next day. and his ties to russia are playing high up on capitol hill. >> i think the reason for that is because of trump himself. if trump had not been so friendly, shall we say, to putin during the campaign, had he not said such good things about him, had he not valued the

relationship and spoken offhandedly about working together, it probably wouldn't have been a big liability. but people are thinking, well, trump is a novice. he's coming into an international arena where he's been a spectator. he would want a secretary of state who would guide him, who would have experience. you might say, for example, the way kissinger guided nixon, who was actually quite experienced. so instead what you're getting is a second novice, meaning somebody without direct foreign policy experience, and somebody who received an order of friendship from a guy who is not our friend. and that's a problem. >> i talked to a number of diplomats who say this is not the ordinary ceo. this is a guy who essentially exxon mobil is almost like a nation state, it's so big, that they're dealing directly with world leaders. >> and we hear from the trump folks that some really powerful respected voices are saying rex tillerson would be a good nominee. people like jim bakker and konz

lee za rice. it is possible his nomination could become a proxy fight on the whole issue of russia. today we heard from three republican members of the senate foreign relations committee expressing concern about the russian meddling, saying there ought to be an investigation. that is a sign that i think the trump people need to at least pay attention. it would be hard to block tillerson from being confirmed, but you could have a debate in the senate foreign relations committee that is not helpful. >> i talked to a senior democrat this weekend who said the democrats cannot get app oh plek tick about everybody pick. they can only get apoplectic about certain ones if they're going to be effective on capitol hill. >> i think this one, tillerson, will be the fight they want to wage in the senate because -- >> rather than jeff sessions or -- >> jeff sessions will be a close second. scott pruitt will be his close third. but tillerson, i think there is

progressives on his environmental record, on the fact that he's an oil and gas guru. they worry about that. that is, i think, one of their bigger issues. so i think there is that -- they feel uncomfortable about the fact of pushing forward a candidate or voting in favor of a candidate who -- or a nominee who would be -- you know, who basically would be not in favor of the climate change arena. >> if the democrats go after tillerson t will be a delightful festival of hypocrisy. the russians for 20 years have been as soft on the russians as. so this is quite a flip-flop. well, look, the famous moment all of us remember, obama mocking romney for saying that the russians are a big threat. now all of a sudden, they're becoming cold warriors. i don't think it's going to look very good. >> not to mention hillary clinton's reset button that

really wasn't reset. matt, i want to ask you about this. was this stringing mitt romney along? was this all part of a giant scheme, do you think, or do you think he was really considering mitt romney? >> i think trump actually had a good rapport with romney and was attracted to the idea of him as secretary of state. but he saw how it played. trump is always looking at how things play with the base and with his audience, and the reaction from the grassroots about romney made him look for other names. >> it's so machiavellian to think that he brought romney in -- maybe the first time. but when he brought him back the second time, i guess i take him at his word that he was seriously considering romney. but one stunning thing. romney and tillerson, could two people have more different approaches toward u.s./russian relations, and yet those were apparently the two finalists? >> amazing. next up. why the president-elect does not want the daily intelligence briefing every day.

and some perspective on the reaction to it.

you are getting the presidential daily brief? >> yes. >> only once a week. >> well, i get it when i need it. if something should change from this point, immediately call me. i'm available on one minute's notice. i don't have to be told -- you know, i'm like a smart person. i don't have to be told the same thing and the same words every single day for the next eight years. >> it doesn't work that way. those threats change on a day to day basis with new intelligence, with new sources, with new assets that provide information. >> well, the whole back and forth about getting one presidential daily brief, which

the president-elect now gets per week and having the vice president elect and others take it day to day is what he's talking about there. there is this reaction on both sides, but if you go back to twitter, and they still hold those tweets for a while, september 2012, priorities. while fund-raising and campaigning on our dime, obama has skipped over 50 pshs of his intel briefings. september 2014, fact, obama does not read his intelligence briefings, nor does he get briefed in person by the cia or dod. too busy, i guess. and then october of 2014, obama has missed 58% of his intelligence briefings, but our president does make 100% on his fund raiserraisers. there was uproar about the president getting his briefing on an ipad, which changed. we're back with the panel. >> i prefer the george w. bush model which is that you get daily briefings and that the

president asks the difficult questions to the intelligence officers. i do believe that trump may move towards that model once he takes the oath of office. i could see that happening. obviously he's got very competent generals in place with general mattis, general kelly, as well as vice president elect pence. but things change so rapidly. international crises, situations across the globe. i think it's to the president's benefit, president-elect's benefit, to get that daily briefing every day. >> i mean to his point, if something has not changed, he doesn't want to hear the same thing again. but from my perspective of knowing what the intel briefs are like, you ask them. i need to know about x, y, z, and they come the next day with whatever you need to know so he could expand day to day what he's learning about different elements. >>le with, i doubt he's going to change his approach because if there's one thing which know about president-elect trump is he doesn't change. and he ran as an outsider who is

not going to do things as you or i might expect them to be done. i think he's going to carry on that approach. however, there's a big political risk for him, which is up to the 9/11 attack. if we have a similar catastrophic attack in this country and there is the slightest hint of it in a daily brief that the president-elect misses. that could be a big political problem for him. it's an if but it's something he shouldable aware of as he is about to take the oath of office. >> charles? >> look, i think it's clear. a president should be able to choose how to get his information. how often he gets it. and in what form he gets it. nonetheless, he is not known for his intellectual curiosity. the fact that he would, again, is he novice when it comes to foreign affairs. the fact that he would not want to get the briefings, particularly now, before he is the one who has to make the decisions, is somewhat disturbing. because he has got almost a month now, a little more

than a month, actually, until is he sworn. in it's a good time to actually catch up. he has been a businessman. is he not required to have studied the capitals of all the countries in southeast asia. none the less, to get a feel for what's going on in the world. so, however he decides, he doesn't have to be daily. it doesn't have to be a briefing. this has got to be a way in which he educates himself and not dealing. in the end the decision is going to be his. that day is arriving pretty soon. >>, susan, when you talk to people they say, listen, he can do it however he wants. they say he has great people around him. and if something is big, he says he will be there 24 hours a day. that's when you talk to people out in the country. what's the big deal about washington intelligence getting so worked up over this. >> he aseeds a lot of authority to mike pence getting a briefing every day. one of the concerns is that donald trump does not have a relationship of trust, i think, in the intelligence agencies. he has been very critical of them. including over this russia

conclusions that they have etched radio. of course, the intelligence agencies exist in large part to provide him with the information to make the best possible decisions when this are tough calls so this lack of a relationship, which would only be exacerbated if he failed to get regular briefings from intelligence and intelligence agencies i think might be something of some long-term concerns. although i certainly aagree he gets to decide how he wants to learn about things the way that makes the most sense. >> like president obama it could evolve it? >> could owe involve? i really think the fact that he hasn't taken the oath of office it could possibly change. also, you have to remember presidents all take it in different formats. president reagan received his briefings through video content. obviously we had president obama using his ipad. and is he going to have to find, donald trump needs to find his comfort zone in terms of how is he going to receive the intelligence. >> i want to add one thing conversation we had about russian influence or investigation into that.

debra nunez chairman of the house intelligence committee wrote a letter to the director of national intelligence james clapper in which he said on november 17th, 2016, you told the committee during an open hearing that the intelligence community lacked strong evidence connecting russian government cyber attacks and wikileaks disclosures. the evidence is not strong. we don't have good insight into the sequencing of the releases or the data. we don't have good insight into that, he says. he wants to now call clapper back up or get some clarification, matt, about why they now have certainty. >> and i don't think the consensus vow of the intelligence community is that there is any certainty. what we seem to have a report from the cia. one agency out of many. that thinks that there were certainty about russian intent. i will say that nunez's letter, as well as the response amongst the senators to this news about russian hacking suggests to me that we're going to see a real separation of powers in

this administration. congress is going to assert itself. it's not just going to be a lack calackey of the white housn issues such as this. >> thank you. we have got to run. thank you for being here. coming up, a phenomenal dog-shaming taking over the internet. i don't really understand. this we will come back and ...

finally tonight, you may or may not be familiar with dog shaming. internet trend where owner take as picture of their pet

next to sign detailing a recent infraction a same staple on one late night show. >> i leave voice mails asking people if they got my text. >> i proposed my girlfriend in front of her family so she couldn't say know. i still say chilllaxin. i was a regular bulldog. did i one semester in france. i only spent half of the secret santa limit. i stole this cone from a dog who needed it. >> followed by bad dog. thanks for inviting us home tonight. that's it for "special report," fair balanced and unafraid. "tucker carlson tonight" starts right now. ♪ ♪ >> it is tuesday december 13th. a fox news alert breaking overnight. pure panic at 30,000 feet. two different airplanes packed with people forced to land from

mid air scared. >> donald trump making his big announcement on who will be our next secretary of state. live in washington with the most anticipated cabinet picks yet. >> oh, yeah. nothing says bermerry christmas like a bunch of angels. "fox & friends first" starts right now. >> good morning to you, sunshine. look at the streets of new york city on avenue of the americas. you are watching "fox & friends first" on this tuesday. i am heather childers.

>> i am clayton morris. we will make it official dominating rex tillerson to be his secretary of state. >> the announcement expected just hours before the next stop on his thank you tour. we are live in washington, d.c. with mr. trump's most anticipated pick yet. good morning, rich. >> good morning heather and clayton. after considering high profile candidates like mitt romney and rudy giuliani donald trump will announce lart this morning exxon ceo rex tillerson as his choice for secretary of state. they tout his resume leading a business employing 10's of millions of dollars. he also established valuable business arrangements around the world. his business and personal times to russia and president vladimir putin. he orderin a sweet senator marc